WEBVTT - The Systems At Play 0:00:11.760 --> 0:00:14.640 Good morning, peeps, and welcome to look F Daily with 0:00:14.720 --> 0:00:18.960 Meet your Girl Danielle Moody, Recording from the home bunker. Folks, 0:00:19.040 --> 0:00:21.400 I want to start off the show today with some 0:00:21.680 --> 0:00:25.040 exciting news things that I have been working on for 0:00:25.079 --> 0:00:28.880 the last couple of months that have finally come to fruition. 0:00:29.200 --> 0:00:33.519 So first up, Patreon. So let me tell you a 0:00:33.520 --> 0:00:37.920 little bit about Patreon and the changes that I've made. 0:00:38.080 --> 0:00:44.960 So when Woke a f Daily left unceremoniously serious XM, 0:00:45.440 --> 0:00:50.560 I went to a couple of different outlets before landing 0:00:51.040 --> 0:00:56.120 with iHeart where you guys find me today. And in 0:00:56.160 --> 0:00:59.080 the interim, as I was kind of moving around and 0:00:59.160 --> 0:01:02.840 you know, we were living through a global health pandemic, 0:01:03.280 --> 0:01:07.760 I've launched a Patreon account where I could post episodes 0:01:07.800 --> 0:01:12.640 of wokf Daily and just really find a place to 0:01:12.800 --> 0:01:16.440 gather folks that were interested in staying in the loop 0:01:16.560 --> 0:01:20.880 with me, regardless of what platform I was on. And 0:01:21.000 --> 0:01:29.560 so I've had wonderful, amazing dedicated Patreon subscribers for God 0:01:29.640 --> 0:01:34.800 the last four years, and I am completely and totally grateful, 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:39.319 and so I have wanted to do a revise of 0:01:39.360 --> 0:01:42.800 my Patreon for God the last year or so, and 0:01:42.840 --> 0:01:46.600 so finally have been able to do just that, and 0:01:46.680 --> 0:01:52.120 so I'm really excited to announce that Patreon has been 0:01:52.400 --> 0:01:56.560 refreshed and you can head over to patreon dot com 0:01:56.680 --> 0:02:01.320 slash WOKF and take a look at some of the 0:02:01.360 --> 0:02:05.080 offerings that I have there. You can become a supporter 0:02:05.360 --> 0:02:08.080 with as little as five dollars a month and you 0:02:08.160 --> 0:02:12.520 get two video shows of WOKEF a week. That is 0:02:12.600 --> 0:02:16.560 woke Wednesday, which is a video show for Patreon subscribers only, 0:02:16.680 --> 0:02:20.359 and Bucket Friday, which is also a video show for 0:02:20.840 --> 0:02:25.720 WOKF listeners. If you jump up to the fifteen dollar 0:02:26.000 --> 0:02:30.120 a month, which is the Explorer level, you get all 0:02:30.120 --> 0:02:33.000 of the support of benefits, so you get those video shows. 0:02:33.120 --> 0:02:37.480 Plus I'm going to be doing a quarterly Zoom Ask 0:02:37.600 --> 0:02:41.040 Me Anything, where you will get to connect with other 0:02:41.240 --> 0:02:45.480 explorers virtually in a zoom setting and we'll do about 0:02:45.480 --> 0:02:49.320 thirty to forty minutes of Yes, ask Me Anything, and 0:02:49.680 --> 0:02:52.960 if you miss the live version of the zoom you 0:02:53.040 --> 0:02:56.880 will get a recording in your inbox. And I am 0:02:56.919 --> 0:03:00.120 going to be sending out my first Ask Me Everything, 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:03.760 because I'll probably obviously do two in the second quarter 0:03:03.960 --> 0:03:07.239 to catch up from the first quarter, but you will 0:03:07.280 --> 0:03:12.960 receive that information in your inbox on Patreon, and then 0:03:13.400 --> 0:03:16.960 you jump up to the thirty five dollars a month level, 0:03:17.000 --> 0:03:21.280 which is the Seeker level of Patreon dot com, where 0:03:21.280 --> 0:03:24.959 you receive all of the Supporter and Explore benefits plus 0:03:25.080 --> 0:03:29.320 a monthly blog from yours truly that will hit your 0:03:29.680 --> 0:03:34.400 Patreon inbox the last Friday of the month. And then 0:03:34.680 --> 0:03:40.720 finally for the activators set at the fifty dollar a 0:03:40.880 --> 0:03:45.200 month level, you will receive all of the prior benefits 0:03:45.200 --> 0:03:49.760 at the Supporter, Explorer and Seeker level plus a monthly 0:03:49.920 --> 0:03:54.120 election deep dive via zoom that I will do and 0:03:54.280 --> 0:03:58.400 host and bring on some of our favorite guests from 0:03:58.520 --> 0:04:02.480 WOKF to be in a live session and setting for 0:04:02.560 --> 0:04:05.440 thirty minutes where you're able to ask questions via the 0:04:05.560 --> 0:04:10.440 chat as well as connect with other activators and so folks, 0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:14.320 head over to patreon dot com slash WOKF that is 0:04:14.400 --> 0:04:19.400 Patreon dot com slash WOKF and you can see there's 0:04:19.440 --> 0:04:22.520 a new welcome note from me with a video in 0:04:22.600 --> 0:04:27.400 the about section, just more info about how to find 0:04:27.440 --> 0:04:29.800 different ways to support and like I say, all of 0:04:29.839 --> 0:04:35.160 the time, supporting independent voices independent creators is more important 0:04:35.200 --> 0:04:39.320 now than ever, and so head over there and we 0:04:39.520 --> 0:04:43.599 can get into some good trouble, as the late John 0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:49.120 Lewis used to say. And then, lastly, super excited as 0:04:49.240 --> 0:04:55.120 well to announce the launch of my new newsletter, The 0:04:55.200 --> 0:04:59.440 Damn Digest, which will come out twice a month, and 0:04:59.800 --> 0:05:03.440 it we'll have content in there to get you inspired 0:05:03.560 --> 0:05:07.800 as fuck, peaceful as fuck, and engaged as fuck as 0:05:07.880 --> 0:05:12.600 we try and navigate these unprecedented times. You can head 0:05:12.640 --> 0:05:16.839 over to Danielle Moody dot com and join the mailing 0:05:16.880 --> 0:05:22.040 list immediately. It is a free newsletter, and I am 0:05:22.080 --> 0:05:25.840 looking for other ways to get out content that I 0:05:25.880 --> 0:05:29.720 am interested in creating. The times are chaotic and so 0:05:29.800 --> 0:05:33.360 I don't want to just be raging, which you will 0:05:33.400 --> 0:05:36.400 get a lot of rage. One of my featured articles 0:05:36.720 --> 0:05:40.159 up right now at Danielle Moody dot com is the 0:05:40.240 --> 0:05:43.560 right to protest right and the right to protest being 0:05:43.720 --> 0:05:47.040 under attack, and that is in the Engaged as Fucked section, 0:05:47.640 --> 0:05:50.840 as well as I give you five tips to help 0:05:50.880 --> 0:05:52.839 you romance your life a little more. 0:05:53.120 --> 0:05:54.040 Why do we wait for. 0:05:54.000 --> 0:05:57.200 Other people to romance us when we can romance ourselves 0:05:57.480 --> 0:05:59.679 as a way to live a more joy centered life. 0:05:59.760 --> 0:06:03.160 So head over to Danielmoody dot com and you can 0:06:03.279 --> 0:06:06.039 click on the blog and see the latest and sign 0:06:06.200 --> 0:06:09.359 up for the mailing list so that you never miss 0:06:09.400 --> 0:06:15.800 a newsletter. And then finally, friends, omg, the damn shop 0:06:16.080 --> 0:06:21.880 is open. I have officially launched merchandise. So many of 0:06:21.920 --> 0:06:24.400 you have been asking me throughout the years, and I've 0:06:24.480 --> 0:06:29.160 launched my first capsule collection, The Future is Woke, which 0:06:29.279 --> 0:06:33.920 is out now. T shirts, sweatshirts, totes, mugs, get it, 0:06:34.040 --> 0:06:35.800 get at it, gift it to people. 0:06:36.720 --> 0:06:36.960 You know. 0:06:37.279 --> 0:06:41.000 I want to be able to create and find ways 0:06:41.040 --> 0:06:45.159 for us to wear our messages, wear our pride like 0:06:45.400 --> 0:06:49.240 and in a time when you have governors that are 0:06:49.240 --> 0:06:53.120 trying to ban books and ban curriculum and you know, 0:06:53.240 --> 0:06:56.279 weaponize the word woke, I want to fucking reclaim it 0:06:56.360 --> 0:06:58.880 and I think that we should rock it. So The 0:06:58.920 --> 0:07:03.160 Future is Woke is the first capsule collection that I'm doing. 0:07:03.680 --> 0:07:07.560 Grab a T shirt, grab a mug, grab a sweatshirt, 0:07:07.600 --> 0:07:10.600 and a toad and let people know just how fucking 0:07:10.760 --> 0:07:14.680 woke af you are. So all of that, friends, head 0:07:14.680 --> 0:07:19.760 over to Daniel Moody dot com. All right, I'm excited. 0:07:19.880 --> 0:07:22.800 I'm super excited because I'm just trying to find different 0:07:22.840 --> 0:07:26.400 ways to create, connect and collaborate with all of you 0:07:27.480 --> 0:07:30.600 and do so in a way that makes me feel 0:07:30.600 --> 0:07:33.000 good and I don't have to go through gatekeepers to 0:07:33.080 --> 0:07:35.320 do it. And so that's why that's the other reason 0:07:35.640 --> 0:07:39.240 for the creation of this newsletter and the creation of 0:07:39.280 --> 0:07:41.880 the store is that, you know, we got to own 0:07:41.960 --> 0:07:45.760 our own shit, because apparently at any time, the government 0:07:45.800 --> 0:07:47.360 can come in and decide that they're going to go 0:07:47.400 --> 0:07:50.760 ahead and ban TikTok, right, and they're going to ban Instagram, 0:07:50.800 --> 0:07:52.840 and they're going to ban whatever it is that they want, 0:07:52.960 --> 0:07:55.680 and they will create the grounds to do so. So 0:07:55.800 --> 0:07:59.760 that is really the impetus of you know folks being like, well, 0:08:00.520 --> 0:08:02.160 you know, Danielle, I really want to find a way 0:08:02.160 --> 0:08:04.239 to support you, but I don't want to go through 0:08:04.280 --> 0:08:09.240 these you know, mass corporations that don't help their creators, 0:08:09.280 --> 0:08:12.720 that are really about their own algorithms and selling and 0:08:12.800 --> 0:08:17.520 selling your data. So yes, I'm trying to find ways 0:08:17.640 --> 0:08:21.400 to be able to go direct to consumer, direct to you, 0:08:21.600 --> 0:08:24.560 direct to audience, in a way where we can have 0:08:24.800 --> 0:08:28.600 a relationship that we own and that is not owned 0:08:29.320 --> 0:08:30.960 and go away in the middle of the night. And 0:08:31.000 --> 0:08:35.360 this was all prompted by the recent push with our 0:08:35.559 --> 0:08:40.800 Octanegerian elected fucking officials who have decided that they're going 0:08:40.840 --> 0:08:44.199 to ban TikTok. Now, the lie, folks that they are 0:08:44.240 --> 0:08:46.520 telling us that we've talked about on this show, the 0:08:46.559 --> 0:08:49.800 lie that they are spewing is that oh, well, TikTok 0:08:49.920 --> 0:08:53.880 needs to be sold to a non Chinese you know, ownership, 0:08:54.160 --> 0:08:57.800 and then it'll be all fine and good. Well, come 0:08:57.840 --> 0:09:00.880 to find out. I want to tell you you who 0:09:00.920 --> 0:09:07.440 has been behind this band, which will shock absolutely no one. 0:09:07.880 --> 0:09:14.080 But again it's like, hmm, ask yourself the reason why 0:09:14.440 --> 0:09:18.400 things are happening, in the way that they're happening, and 0:09:19.600 --> 0:09:22.720 when they are happening. So come to find out, great 0:09:22.800 --> 0:09:26.920 site called the Slow Factory which I follow on Instagram, 0:09:27.360 --> 0:09:32.040 and a slow factory is, you know, building systemic change 0:09:32.080 --> 0:09:36.479 for collective liberation. And they did a nice little roundup 0:09:37.360 --> 0:09:42.520 basically telling us that APAC, or the American Israel Public 0:09:42.559 --> 0:09:48.360 Affairs Committee, has spent millions of dollars silencing the ever 0:09:48.400 --> 0:09:53.120 growing movement for free Palestine by using, as they say, 0:09:53.360 --> 0:09:57.240 quote corrupt politicians as a way to fuel censorship and 0:09:57.360 --> 0:10:01.400 promote apathy. They go on to say that the writing 0:10:01.480 --> 0:10:04.000 is on the wall. The lengths the powers that be 0:10:04.400 --> 0:10:08.040 are going to to silence our voice online and in 0:10:08.080 --> 0:10:12.800 our workplaces, to violently attacking our bodies on university campuses 0:10:13.200 --> 0:10:17.160 and our streets have been extreme. But it's clear that 0:10:17.240 --> 0:10:21.200 those who support genocide are scared because they currently sit 0:10:21.480 --> 0:10:25.320 on the wrong side of history. And this carousel that 0:10:25.360 --> 0:10:29.800 they put out points to how the band had passed 0:10:29.800 --> 0:10:33.600 through the House of Representatives and the Senate that currently 0:10:33.720 --> 0:10:38.880 now TikTok is suing the United States for trying to 0:10:39.000 --> 0:10:42.880 institute this ban. They tell us that the bill to 0:10:42.920 --> 0:10:48.520 ban TikTok was authored by Wisconsin Congressman Mike Gallagher, who 0:10:48.559 --> 0:10:51.840 spoke to Congress about the dangers of lobbyists advocating on 0:10:51.880 --> 0:10:56.240 the behalf of foreign countries, referring to China. But come 0:10:56.320 --> 0:11:01.520 to find out, this motherfucker has taken upwards of sixty 0:11:01.600 --> 0:11:06.800 thousand dollars from guess who a pack while drafting the 0:11:06.840 --> 0:11:10.800 TikTok ban. Mike Gallagher has been paid handsomely by Apax 0:11:10.880 --> 0:11:14.480 Slow Factory. Reports in March of twenty twenty four, Gallagher 0:11:14.520 --> 0:11:18.800 received seventeen thousand from APAC following the forty four thousand 0:11:19.000 --> 0:11:23.840 he received from them in twenty twenty two. Y'all, they're 0:11:23.880 --> 0:11:29.559 all in on it, right, Everyone is in cahoots. And like, 0:11:29.840 --> 0:11:33.240 I am not a conspiracy theorist, but this is not conspiracy. 0:11:34.240 --> 0:11:38.920 You have to look at recently a recent interview that 0:11:39.200 --> 0:11:44.360 Mitt Romney did with Anthony Blincoln where he openly said, 0:11:44.480 --> 0:11:49.079 and Ryan Grimm posted this on x He openly said 0:11:49.240 --> 0:11:53.000 that the reason why they are looking to ban TikTok 0:11:53.160 --> 0:11:56.280 has nothing to do with fucking privacy and China and 0:11:56.320 --> 0:12:00.480 has everything to do with the footage that is coming 0:12:00.520 --> 0:12:04.360 in directly from Gaza that is not being filtered through 0:12:04.440 --> 0:12:07.000 mainstream media outlets and whitewashed. 0:12:07.640 --> 0:12:07.840 Right. 0:12:08.160 --> 0:12:11.320 We've already seen reports that have come out from the 0:12:11.360 --> 0:12:15.000 New York Times. People have investigated the New York Times 0:12:15.280 --> 0:12:19.560 for the use of certain words when they are talking 0:12:19.640 --> 0:12:22.959 about Israel and the use of other words when they 0:12:22.960 --> 0:12:27.880 are talking about Palestine, and the whitewashing and the fabrication 0:12:28.440 --> 0:12:33.040 that was happening in their headquarters, right, that made it 0:12:33.080 --> 0:12:37.160 to the front page following the horrific attack on October seventh. 0:12:38.160 --> 0:12:41.520 So this is why I started out the show with 0:12:41.640 --> 0:12:46.760 saying this is what I'm doing in these different content 0:12:46.880 --> 0:12:52.679 creator focused spaces. Because when it comes down to it, folks, 0:12:53.559 --> 0:12:57.600 TikTok wasn't seen as a threat when it was just 0:12:57.679 --> 0:13:01.280 about dances and bullshit, right where it was just about 0:13:01.440 --> 0:13:06.240 dances and gossip and you know whatever the latest challenge is. 0:13:07.120 --> 0:13:09.640 But when it started to be used as a tool 0:13:10.840 --> 0:13:16.839 to bring awareness to the heinous, violent crimes that are 0:13:16.880 --> 0:13:23.360 being committed against the people of Palestine in Gaza at 0:13:23.400 --> 0:13:26.120 the hands of Israel that is being backed by the 0:13:26.240 --> 0:13:31.840 United States, all of a sudden, TikTok became the enemy 0:13:33.040 --> 0:13:35.880 and they want to use the lie of privacy as 0:13:35.920 --> 0:13:42.520 the reason for it. Meanwhile, fucking Meta, right, Google, the 0:13:42.559 --> 0:13:46.040 rest of them have been selling our data to each other. 0:13:46.760 --> 0:13:46.920 Right. 0:13:46.960 --> 0:13:52.839 We just learned most recently that Meta sold our data 0:13:52.880 --> 0:13:58.840 to Netflix for like a couple hundred million dollars. So 0:13:59.240 --> 0:14:03.280 we know that it's fine when it's a quote unquote 0:14:03.320 --> 0:14:09.280 American company that is doing dirt, But all of a sudden, 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:13.120 when it's a Chinese operated company that allows us to 0:14:13.240 --> 0:14:18.200 have on the ground reporting in real time that is 0:14:18.440 --> 0:14:22.960 raw and real, that becomes the problem because now you're 0:14:22.960 --> 0:14:25.080 not able to control the masses in the way that 0:14:25.160 --> 0:14:29.120 you want to. So this is why I say to folks, 0:14:30.480 --> 0:14:33.680 you have to look at the sources. You have to 0:14:33.720 --> 0:14:36.440 look what is being said and also what is not 0:14:36.520 --> 0:14:42.400 being said. When they are referring to children that are 0:14:42.440 --> 0:14:51.280 being killed as adults, right, when they are labeling certain 0:14:51.360 --> 0:14:58.600 people terrorists, but ignoring the terrorizing and the complete obliteration 0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:01.320 of the Geneva Convention, and as it pertains to the 0:15:01.360 --> 0:15:05.760 actions that Israel has been taking. They want these student 0:15:05.840 --> 0:15:08.560 protests and all of these things stamped out so that 0:15:08.640 --> 0:15:13.720 they can regain control. And who is the they. I'm 0:15:13.760 --> 0:15:17.200 talking about our government, I'm talking about our mainstream media. 0:15:17.240 --> 0:15:21.320 I'm talking about the powerful one percent that is seeing 0:15:21.360 --> 0:15:25.240 a workforce that is becoming untethered to the idea of 0:15:25.360 --> 0:15:29.160 working as a machine and our production being our only value. 0:15:29.160 --> 0:15:33.600 This younger generation is questioning everything and everyone because they 0:15:33.640 --> 0:15:36.680 realize what the rest of us are coming to understand 0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:42.120 that we have been sold a fucking lie, a lie 0:15:42.160 --> 0:15:45.120 about the possibility of the American dream, a lie about 0:15:45.160 --> 0:15:50.920 American excellence, a lie about our diplomacy and the footprint 0:15:51.080 --> 0:15:57.280 that we have around the world. And so young folks 0:15:57.520 --> 0:16:03.400 are waking up and becoming very aware and conscious and 0:16:03.800 --> 0:16:12.680 woke to who America has always been. And so, folks, 0:16:12.720 --> 0:16:15.800 in order for us to really get to a place 0:16:16.040 --> 0:16:20.600 of systemic change, we got to excavate. We got to 0:16:20.640 --> 0:16:24.400 clear out the basement. We gotta take out the skeletons. 0:16:24.680 --> 0:16:28.720 We have to do the hard, dirty work right before 0:16:28.800 --> 0:16:33.520 we get to reimagine and redecorate. And that is where 0:16:33.560 --> 0:16:38.520 I think that we are right at this moment, and 0:16:38.600 --> 0:16:40.640 we are a part of it. We are a part 0:16:40.720 --> 0:16:43.240 of the solution. I know that there are days when 0:16:43.320 --> 0:16:45.280 I get on here and I turn on this mic, 0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:48.040 and I am beat down, and I have not even 0:16:48.080 --> 0:16:52.520 the mustard seed of hope. But I will tell you 0:16:52.560 --> 0:16:55.760 that I have more days than not when I recognize 0:16:55.800 --> 0:16:58.920 the systems that are at play to make us apathetic, 0:16:59.120 --> 0:17:02.520 to drain us up our hopefulness, to wash away our faith. 0:17:04.119 --> 0:17:06.840 And it's when we decide to ban together, when we 0:17:06.960 --> 0:17:11.160 decide that our voices are bigger than their descent, that 0:17:11.240 --> 0:17:16.840 real change happens. Coming up next, I'm really excited to 0:17:17.320 --> 0:17:21.919 welcome to f Daily a conversation that I think is 0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:25.560 really important, Folks, that we have often here, but not 0:17:25.840 --> 0:17:29.159 with the people that are most adversely affected, and so 0:17:29.359 --> 0:17:33.199 today or bringing onto the show Yolanda Peoples, who is 0:17:33.280 --> 0:17:38.840 a worker in the Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga, and I 0:17:38.880 --> 0:17:43.160 get into a conversation with Yolanda about their recent win 0:17:43.840 --> 0:17:49.160 at Volkswagen to join the United Auto Workers' Union and 0:17:50.119 --> 0:17:52.600 what it means to be in a union and why 0:17:52.640 --> 0:17:56.359 that matters, and so to really understand from first hand 0:17:56.400 --> 0:18:00.520 accounts what it was like to organize and what it 0:18:00.600 --> 0:18:03.720 was like to win. And we have been talking about 0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:08.199 labor and workers' rights as we saw many uprisings and 0:18:08.359 --> 0:18:14.720 boycotts and worker strikes happen from Hollywood to Detroit to 0:18:14.840 --> 0:18:17.440 other places and other industries, and so I think it's 0:18:17.480 --> 0:18:21.440 really important to bring her voice to the forefront. That 0:18:21.520 --> 0:18:30.679 conversation is coming up next, folks. I am very happy 0:18:30.720 --> 0:18:36.200 to welcome to wok F Daily UAW member Yolanda Peoples, 0:18:36.240 --> 0:18:39.959 who just had a recent victory as a worker at 0:18:39.960 --> 0:18:46.119 the Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga. And we on this show, Yolanda, 0:18:46.200 --> 0:18:49.200 have spent a lot of time good time talking about 0:18:49.600 --> 0:18:56.440 the labor movement, talking about the importance of workers, workers protections, workers' rights. 0:18:56.800 --> 0:19:00.360 So tell us what happened down in Chattanooga, and why 0:19:00.440 --> 0:19:02.680 you all had been in the press for the last 0:19:02.760 --> 0:19:04.320 couple of months. 0:19:04.640 --> 0:19:06.240 We won our union. 0:19:06.440 --> 0:19:10.520 We are now officially part of the ua W United 0:19:10.680 --> 0:19:12.679 Auto Workers Union. 0:19:13.920 --> 0:19:16.520 Congrats, thank you so much, thank you. 0:19:16.720 --> 0:19:21.119 We are all so excited to finally reach this milestone 0:19:21.520 --> 0:19:25.280 and to win our union. This was our third time 0:19:25.359 --> 0:19:31.639 trying to bring the UAW into Volkswagen of Chattanooga. For 0:19:31.720 --> 0:19:34.760 a long time, employees had felt as though they were 0:19:34.800 --> 0:19:38.760 being treated unfairly. They being heard, They wanted their voices 0:19:38.800 --> 0:19:44.560 to be heard, and they just knew that we could 0:19:44.560 --> 0:19:48.320 make Volkswagen the best place to work in Chattanooga. And 0:19:48.400 --> 0:19:52.920 so we decided that now is the time to see 0:19:52.960 --> 0:19:55.760 if we can try it once more to get our union. 0:19:56.760 --> 0:20:00.520 So this was the third attempt. What happened in the 0:20:00.560 --> 0:20:04.280 first two. If you can like what happened in those 0:20:04.320 --> 0:20:07.640 first two attempts, why didn't why wasn't it able to succeed? 0:20:08.119 --> 0:20:12.280 The first attempt was in twenty fourteen and the second 0:20:12.280 --> 0:20:16.119 one was in twenty nineteen. When we first tried to 0:20:17.040 --> 0:20:19.879 bring the union into volks Wagons, a lot of people 0:20:19.960 --> 0:20:23.480 wasn't really familiar with the UAW, and a lot of 0:20:23.480 --> 0:20:28.960 people weren't even familiar with unions at all. So when 0:20:29.720 --> 0:20:34.040 we tried to organize, both wagons had brought out a 0:20:34.040 --> 0:20:38.760 lot of miscommunication untruths about the union. They brought up 0:20:38.800 --> 0:20:43.159 the scandals and things like that that were with the 0:20:43.400 --> 0:20:47.000 ras W. They also brought up how the union were 0:20:47.040 --> 0:20:51.160 closed factories, and it just wasn't good those times. We 0:20:51.160 --> 0:20:54.840 weren't able to speak freely about the union. We can 0:20:54.920 --> 0:20:59.160 always talk about the UAW on our breaks and off 0:20:59.240 --> 0:21:01.320 company time, so. 0:21:01.480 --> 0:21:03.119 We weren't able to get the word around. 0:21:03.200 --> 0:21:06.840 We weren't able to educate people as much about the 0:21:06.840 --> 0:21:09.440 benefits of being part of the UNAW or being part 0:21:09.480 --> 0:21:14.159 of a union, and so we weren't really able to 0:21:14.240 --> 0:21:17.560 just inform the other employees or get word around the 0:21:17.600 --> 0:21:21.760 plant how beneficial this will be. But this time around, 0:21:21.920 --> 0:21:25.399 there have been changes in the National Labor Relations Board. 0:21:25.480 --> 0:21:29.040 They've changed certain laws that give employees the freedom to 0:21:29.160 --> 0:21:32.560 speak about unions and forming a union just as they 0:21:32.600 --> 0:21:35.200 were talking about their families or talking about a game, 0:21:35.920 --> 0:21:39.119 and so that that was the big change. It allowed 0:21:39.200 --> 0:21:41.320 us to be able to have discussions on the line 0:21:41.359 --> 0:21:44.000 while we were working, because we're working beside people eight 0:21:44.040 --> 0:21:46.720 hours a day, eight to twelve hours a day and 0:21:46.880 --> 0:21:47.960 all we do is talk. 0:21:47.840 --> 0:21:49.000 All day long while we're working. 0:21:49.040 --> 0:21:53.280 Because of helped the time passed and so I was 0:21:53.320 --> 0:21:58.119 a voc a voluntary organized committee person and my job 0:21:58.640 --> 0:22:01.479 was to get information into to the plan, talk to 0:22:01.520 --> 0:22:06.080 my coworkers, discuss the issues, see what issues they were having, 0:22:06.160 --> 0:22:08.800 and see what if they knew about the u a W, 0:22:08.880 --> 0:22:12.359 if they knew about unions, and what changes they want 0:22:12.400 --> 0:22:15.399 to see broad about. And by me being able to 0:22:15.440 --> 0:22:18.320 talk freely, I was able to talk to people I 0:22:18.359 --> 0:22:20.720 had never even thought to talk to talk to before 0:22:21.240 --> 0:22:23.760 I've been working with I've seen them and pass them, 0:22:23.800 --> 0:22:26.080 but I never just stopped and saying anything to them. 0:22:26.119 --> 0:22:30.040 So talking about the UAW and discussing these issues, that 0:22:30.200 --> 0:22:32.920 was a good way to open up conversation. And during 0:22:32.920 --> 0:22:35.440 this process I've made a lot of new friends. I 0:22:35.600 --> 0:22:38.480 made a lot of I call them family because we've 0:22:38.520 --> 0:22:42.320 been working together for so long. And it just gave 0:22:42.359 --> 0:22:45.919 me the opportunity to discuss something that I feel so 0:22:46.119 --> 0:22:49.880 passionately about being part of the u a W. And 0:22:49.960 --> 0:22:52.240 that was the main factor. Because we just was able. 0:22:52.280 --> 0:22:53.800 We were talking. We did a lot of talking. When 0:22:53.840 --> 0:22:54.280 I say we. 0:22:54.280 --> 0:22:57.800 Talked We did a lot of talking a lot, because that's. 0:22:57.720 --> 0:22:59.760 That's the only we can't bring out our phones on 0:22:59.800 --> 0:23:02.840 the we can't do it. So it was just word 0:23:02.840 --> 0:23:07.920 of mouth communication. We were not faced with a lot 0:23:07.960 --> 0:23:11.399 of backlash or a lot of in the previous years. 0:23:11.440 --> 0:23:13.520 You know, people felt as though they were being targeted 0:23:13.560 --> 0:23:14.360 and they stood up. 0:23:14.880 --> 0:23:16.720 I was gonna ask if there had been in the 0:23:16.800 --> 0:23:23.359 prior to tries retaliation that the company took out against folks, But. 0:23:23.280 --> 0:23:24.840 What was that not the case at all? 0:23:25.320 --> 0:23:27.639 The first two times it was, you know, people were 0:23:27.680 --> 0:23:29.879 saying they were getting retaliation. 0:23:31.040 --> 0:23:34.520 It's sound as though supervisors knew that you stood with 0:23:34.640 --> 0:23:35.480 the UAW. 0:23:35.760 --> 0:23:39.119 You know, sometimes you'll get right up certain things like 0:23:39.160 --> 0:23:41.680 that that just came out of nowhere, and you were wondering, 0:23:41.720 --> 0:23:45.760 anybody okay because I'm with the UAW. And in private 0:23:45.760 --> 0:23:50.240 conversations that supervisors would have with certain organizers, and may 0:23:50.600 --> 0:23:53.200 people really afraid to stand up and say that I 0:23:53.200 --> 0:23:57.200 don't want this at the plan? And then are the 0:23:57.280 --> 0:23:59.879 employees see this happening? You know? And they was like, 0:24:00.080 --> 0:24:03.760 and if our company is fighting this hard against this 0:24:04.320 --> 0:24:08.000 against the union, maybe I should just sit back. Maybe 0:24:08.040 --> 0:24:10.840 I should say no, just out of fear, you know, 0:24:11.200 --> 0:24:14.360 it was. It was really fear because in twenty fourteen, 0:24:14.359 --> 0:24:16.720 be cause I started working at Volkswagen in twenty eleven, 0:24:17.280 --> 0:24:20.879 and by twenty fourteen, Okay, I knew all about the UAW. 0:24:21.000 --> 0:24:23.800 My dad and my grandfather were both part of the UAW. 0:24:24.560 --> 0:24:27.720 But I saw the organizers coming into plant, I was excited. 0:24:27.760 --> 0:24:30.000 I was like, oh, we finally finna get our union. 0:24:30.520 --> 0:24:32.399 From then, I've seen the way they were treated, and 0:24:32.520 --> 0:24:34.800 I was like, well, I'm for a reunion. I'm going 0:24:34.880 --> 0:24:38.080 to vote yes, but I'm not gonna raise my voice 0:24:38.320 --> 0:24:42.560 and stand up because I need my job and because 0:24:42.680 --> 0:24:44.840 the way they were treated, it made a lot of 0:24:44.920 --> 0:24:49.280 people fearful to really stand up behind the UAW at 0:24:49.280 --> 0:24:55.480 that time. And this time the laws I changed, and 0:24:56.080 --> 0:24:59.960 then I made it to where the workers can organize 0:25:00.080 --> 0:25:04.000 and their company cannot step in. They cannot do anything 0:25:04.000 --> 0:25:06.679 in volks banging paid attention to that. 0:25:07.400 --> 0:25:10.000 So can you talk to me about some of the 0:25:11.040 --> 0:25:16.520 things that the UAW was advocating for for the folks 0:25:16.800 --> 0:25:19.359 at Volkswagen, like yourself, Like what were some of the 0:25:19.400 --> 0:25:23.720 things that maybe were happening that you were trying to change? 0:25:24.400 --> 0:25:27.359 Being the VOLCA our first mission was to ask the 0:25:27.400 --> 0:25:30.000 people exactly what they wanted, ask the people that they 0:25:30.080 --> 0:25:32.800 have any concerns. And one of the main things that 0:25:32.840 --> 0:25:34.760 a lot of people have brought up. We recently had 0:25:34.760 --> 0:25:37.840 our insurance changed, and a lot of people are paying 0:25:38.040 --> 0:25:42.600 for medical prescriptions and going to the doctor they recently 0:25:42.640 --> 0:25:44.160 didn't have to pay for and a lot of people 0:25:44.160 --> 0:25:46.320 are upset about that. That was the number one issue 0:25:46.359 --> 0:25:48.600 that a lot of people kept bringing up, is insurance. 0:25:49.320 --> 0:25:53.560 And then following the Big Three contract and their strikes 0:25:53.560 --> 0:25:58.000 and everything and seeing their contracts, we was like, Okay, 0:25:58.119 --> 0:26:02.240 they're fighting for better wages, but they already make more 0:26:02.280 --> 0:26:03.280 than what we made. 0:26:03.600 --> 0:26:07.720 Now we realized that we are so underpaid. 0:26:07.840 --> 0:26:09.919 You know, a lot of people didn't realize that the 0:26:10.000 --> 0:26:12.920 other auto manufacturer companies, people that do the same things 0:26:12.920 --> 0:26:15.160 that we do, we're getting paid so much more than 0:26:15.160 --> 0:26:17.760 what we're getting paid. So when that brought that to 0:26:17.800 --> 0:26:20.640 the forefront and we were able to see exactly how 0:26:20.680 --> 0:26:22.840 much they were getting paid, they made us realize that 0:26:22.920 --> 0:26:27.119 why aren't we getting off what they're getting, you know, 0:26:27.960 --> 0:26:30.760